All Good Things Must Come To An End: A Farewell Tribute to Nintendo Power

All good things must come to an end. If you already didn't know Nintendo has discontinued Nintendo Power  print the last issue this month.

This is sad because I grew up reading Nintendo Power along with a lot of other gamers from the 80s. Today we have the Internet and anytime we have and issue with a game we can go online to websites like GameFAQs.com. But before the Internet we had Nintendo Power. If you wanted to beat a hard game like: The Legend of Zelda, Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, Super Mario Bros. 3 and many more you got Nintendo Power. If you didn't have the Nintendo Power you usually had a friend who had it. If you didn't well you were probably S.O.L. and just had to figure it out on your own and back in the day that was very hard to do. I remember having a special Nintendo Power that was the Super Mario Bros. 3 strategy guide which helped me get so much farther in the game as a kid. I don't have the issue anymore I wish I did (It fell apart and my Mom just threw it away grrr). Nintendo Power was pack with many goodies too like posters. Not everything was perfect about Nintendo Power. There was one thing I didn't like about Nintendo Power they never said anything bad about any game even if it sucked. They would  give a description about a bad game in a very sneaky way and kids like me couldn't read between the lines. I look back now and I see that was a good way to market and sell games. Nintendo Power isn't the only magazine to do that though pretty much any game magazine that it associated with one game hardware company will be bias and not say bad things about that game. That was just a minor gripe Nintendo Power was the thing that got us through had games. We have so many more ways today to get info on games but like it say at one point Nintendo Power was the only way. To get power over the games you had to get the power Nintendo Power. Nintendo Power will always be alive in our hearts and the guides they printed are still going to be used to beat the games that were hard to beat as kids (and still are hard to beat as adults). I had the Power did you?

Here is a video review of Nintendo Power by the Anger Video Game Nerd enjoy!

Xbox Live Turn 10 This Year!

Happy Birthday Xbox Live!

Its hard to believe that is has been 10 years since Xbox Live started. Since its started online console play has   skyrocketed up and more and more people sign up everyday. I remember I couldn't sign up for Xbox live when it was first available because at the time I lived in an area without high speed internet. Once I went away to college I was able to sign up. I remember the first time I logged on I played Halo 2 for hours when I should have been doing my Homework (I did get my homework done but its was much later when I did). I also remember play Dead or Alive 2 also and realizing how bad I was compared to the other players. The Xbox live starter set came with a headset which came with an adapter to hook into your controller to use the headset making it easier to talk to other players. Xbox Live was and in my opinion was and is still the best online console gaming experience. Today Xbox Live has evolved into so much more then just online gaming who knew it could get better. I will continue to game on Xbox Live among many other things. 

Want to win a free year of Xbox Live Gold click here to win one today. This contest is today only so enter ASAP!

The 100th Blog Post - Game of the Day - Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines

Today's Game of the Day is Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines.

Since today is Halloween and its our 100th blog post on the Video Game Pad I thought I would talk about an awesome game that not too many people know about. This is the perfect game for Halloween too. This game is an RPG where you are a newly turned vampire. You must complete various quests for the Elder vampire aka the Prince. You will also meet many other Vampires as well. When you start the game you Get to choose from 7 different vampire clans:  Brujah, Gangrel, Malkavian, Nosferatu, Toreador, Tremere, or Ventrue. Each clan has its advantages and disadvantages and they all have different styles of game play which gives the game high replay value (To learn more about the clans check out the wiki.). You have a very elaborate character building system. You can either be a brawler, a gunman or stealthy. You can also choose to be a persuasive vampire, a seductive vampire or an intimidating vampire. You can also build other skills like finance or computers. You also have set abilities which are based on which clan you pick. The game also has awesome voice acting and its like watching a movie at times. You will find yourself absorbed in this game  and find yourself playing for a long time. I also like how they set up the vampires up in this game how they they aren't your typical vampires and it feels more realistic. Also you can't let people see you are a vampire because you will violate the masquerade laws and if you have 5 violations you get a game over. You can also get masquerade redemption's as well. You also must maintain your humanity to control the beast inside of you  .if you have low humanity and your blood is low you are more likely to go into a frenzy and you will attack and feed on people in to open causing you to get a masquerade violation. There is a lot that goes into this game and that's what makes it awesome. Happy Halloween and thank you for reading the 100th blog post. We hope you continue to read on as we continue to write posts.

Happy 15th Anniversary Final Fantasy VII

On January 31, 1997 Final Fantasy VII was released in Japan on the Sony PlayStation. Later that year on September 7, 1997 it was released in North America. This year is the 15th Anniversary of Final Fantasy VII. This was a huge game in the series because this was the first Final Fantasy game released during the 32 bit/64 bit era of video games. It was also the first time a Final Fantasy game was not released on a Nintendo System. Final Fantasy VII was the first game I ever played in the series and it was also the first one I beat. FF7 got me into the Final Fantasy series (Super Mario RPG got me into JRPGs all together). FF7 was a ground breaking game it did so much for JRPGs in North America. This game gave us awesome cinematic, a great story line, awesome music and great battles. FF7 seemed to have it all. It also confused us because the last Final Fantasy released in America was Final Fantasy III. We quickly learned Final Fantasy III was actually Final Fantasy VI and Final Fantasy II was Final Fantasy IV in Japan. Today all the Final Fantasy have pretty much be released in America and all remakes and re-releases have been named correctly. But back to Final Fantasy VII this was a very long game. If you want to get everything you will be playing for around 100+ hours. To get the ultimate summon in the game Knights of the Round you have to get a Golden Chocobo and to get a Golden Chocobo you have to raise Chocobos and that can be time consuming but the reward is worth it. Knight of the Round is an awesome summon it may take about Five minutes to complete but it’s so awesome, and if you want to stand an chance against Emerald and Ruby Weapon you have to have that summon a long with a few other things. If it wasn’t for FF7 I would haveo had an awesome movie which was a direct sequel to the video game Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. This movie truly captured the atmosphere the game and the CGI and animation is amazing. The movie also give you a quick run through of the game’s stor never gone back and played games like Chrono Trigger and Dragon Quest. I would have gone through life never playing other great games and it’s because of FF7 I did that. So not only was FF7 a masterpiece of a video game it also opened my eyes to other great games and I am forever grateful for that. FF7 has also has a two video games spin offs: Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII which was a prequel and Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII which was a sequel. Both are very good games in my opinion. It alsy line so if you haven’t played the game or don’t want to take the time to play it you can watch that on the DVD and watch the movie. The movie is worth watching even if you haven’t played the game. Final Fantasy VII has recently been re-released on the PC and can be download on the PlayStation Network. We are still waiting for a remake and I hope we get it but who knows if we will but I still hoping and praying that we get a remake. I know I’m late but its better late than never Happy 15th Anniversary Final Fantasy VII.

Knights of the Round Summon

Game of the Day: Phantasy Star Online

Today’s game of the day is Phantasy Star Online for the Dreamcast. What can I say about this game other then I love this game. This is one of the main games that made my Dreamcast totally awesome. It was one the first console online RPGs and it was tons of fun. Unfortunately you can’t play it online anyone if you are playing it on the Dreamcast but it is still an awesome single player game. There were 3 classes: Hunters, Rangers and Forces. Hunters specialized in close range combat, Rangers specialized in long range combat and Forces where the Technique/Magic users. Each class was unique in its own way and you strategies were mainly based on the class you picked. Another thing that helps increase playthroughs were the races. You had Humans, Newmans (an elf like race) and Androids. Humans where the most well-rounded classes they are pretty much good at everything an. Humans are available as Hunters, Rangers and Forces, Newmans has the highest TP (technique points) there were the best magic users and they were usually better at evading attacks and being quicker but they lack the strength. Newmans can be either a Hunter or a Force. Androids have the highest strength, defense and accuracy being machines they are much stronger they Humans and Newmans but their main drawback is they are unable to use TP. Androids can either be Hunters or Rangers. Regardless of what you pick to play you will have lots of fun and it’s always fun to try multiple classes and races. I usually used humans and my main character was a human hunter and it was so much fun to rush right up to enemies and get engaged in battle. If you haven’t tried this game out you should there is also a version on the GameCube it’s kind of expensive but it’s worth it if you don’t have a Dreamcast. There is also a game that I own that is similar it’s called Phantasy Star 0 For the Nintendo DS. I wrote a post about it a while ago to check it out click here. Phantasy Star Online is awesome and it’s so much fun you need to check it out.

Happy 40th Anniversary Atari

June 27, 2012 marks Atari's 40th Anniversary. When you think of the first home console the first thing you think of is Atari. It may not have been the first home console but it paved the way for the future. For me the most iconic thing from Atari was the Atari 2600. I remember my mom buying me on with a bunch of game at a thrift store. I don't remember what happened to it because I don't have it now (I do have the Atari Anthology and Activision Anthology on the PS2 so I still have the games). I do remember on of the games I had was pitfall and I loved playing that game I also believe I had Asteroids and I had some other games. Pitfall is still my favorite game for the Atari I love it so much. Atari was an is an awesome company and they still make games and people still loves to play the games and they are all very easy to access now thanks to the internet. Live on Atari.

The Atari Timeline

E3 2012

E3 has already past a few weeks ago and I've finally pulled myself away from Diablo III long enough to write this post (Diablo III Rules!!!!). I didn't really get to watch much of E3 this year but what I saw I liked. I an excited about Halo 4 and the Xbox Smart Glass looks cool. I also really like the Wii U and I will probably purchase one. I haven't been too focused on getting new games I have actually only bought 2 games this year so far that are brand new Mass Effect 3 and Diablo III. I've been more focused on old school games lately and you will see some more posts focused on old school games. It is still my goal to go to E3 at least once in my life and I will hopefully have more time to pay closer attention to E3 next year.

Diablo III...Yeah its that good!

Me with my Collector's Edition of Diablo III on Launch Day May 15, 2012.

It’s has been a little over 2 weeks since Diablo III has been released and it has lived up to the hype. I will say I am a little bias being a big Diablo fan but it’s awesome. Blizzard has done it again. This game is so much fun and you will find yourself playing it over and over again. You can choose from one of these five characters classes: The Barbarian, The Witch Doctor, The Wizard, The Monk and The Demon Hunter. Also for the first time in Diablo all classes have the option to be either male or female. If you have played any of the previous games in this trilogy you will know that the classes were gender specific for each class. I decided to start as a Monk and they are support/melee characters. They have the power to heal themselves and allies and they are also fierce martial artist. I have also tried the Demon Hunter and they are ranged characters duel wielding crossbows if your choose that. I haven’t played as the Barbarian, the Witch Doctor or the Wizard yet but no surprise the Barbarian is strictly melee and the Witch Doctor and Wizard are casters. This game is both wonderful as a single player experience and as a multiplayer experience as well you are also rewarded with achievements by playing each mode. If you are a fan of hack and slash RPGs you must own this game it is so awesome. If you aren’t a fan try the game out and you may be converted. Diablo III is a masterpiece just like Diablo and Diablo II are.

If you plan to buy the game check out this link to make sure your graphics card in your computer is compatible with Diablo III.

Game of the Day: League of Legends

Today’s game of the day is League of Legends for the PC. This is a really good game that is free. I finally tried it out and I really like it. League of Legends has an kind of RTS/Tower Defense type of game play. You pick a champion and you and your team must destroy your opposing team’s nexus the team to do that first wins. This is a game that is totally worth checking out because it will cost you nothing to download. It’s a very fun game and a very competitive game. It has the RTS feel but you don’t have to build building and the only character you control is your champion. It kind of has the tower defense feel because you get minions that spawn to help your assault on your opponent and they also help you defend your base along with your defense turrets. You get to level up your champion and have them learn spells as well. You can also purchase items that help boost your stats. You also get points for playing the game a leveling up and you can use that to unlock more champions. You can also purchase these points to unlock stuff in the game but if you are like you will just earn the points by playing the game. This is a game that you have to play and it’s free so there is no excuse for not trying this game out.

To try this game out go to leagueoflegends.com to create a free profile and download the game.

Music of Video Games - Covers: Castlevania SOTN, Ninja Gaidan and Mega Man 2

 

Photo taken from beatportal.com.

Checking out YouTube I found some awesome covers of music from some awesome video games. I hope you enjoy these as much as I did.

Castlevania Symphony of the Night - Dracula's Castle




Ninja Gaidan - Level 4 - 2, Basilisk Mine Field




Mega Man 2 - Dr. Wily's Castle Part 1

The Video Game Pad Celeberates Its 2 Year Anniversary

2 years ago today February 23, 2010 the Video Game Pad launched. We were know as the Gaming Pad when we launched and later changing the name to the Video Game Pad. We have grow so much in 2 years as you can see by the chart below.

When we started we were only getting on average a couple hundred pageviews a month. Now as you can see we get a few thousand pageviews a month now and we continue to get more each month. I just want to thank all of you who read this blog if it wasn’t for you the Video Game Pad wouldn’t exist. It is also because of you I want to continue to post great blog entries and I also hope to expand and make some videos. I hope you continue to read as we continue to grow. Thank you all so much for reading my blog.

Happy 15th Anniversary Diablo

On December 31, 1996 the world was introduced to an awesome game known as Diablo. This game is awesome and pretty much any hack and slash game is modeled after Diablo and compared to Diablo. You can choose from one of three classes: the Warrior, the Rogue and the Sorcerer. The Warrior is a walking take he is all about melee fighting and his high vitality. The Rogue is a master of the Bow she has very high dexterity she is also with some blades that require high dexterity. She is mainly a ranged fighter but she can handle some melee fighting also. The Sorcerer is all magic he is probably the hardest character to start with especially if you play the single player campaign. Once you level him up thought his magic is amazing and he can wipeout groups of enemies with very little effort. The single player campaign was fun but what made this game was the multiplayer. I loved playing Diablo online with people especially my friends. Battle.net made it so easy to play Diablo online and I would spends so much time leveling up characters and going into the depths of Hell to defeat Diablo. Diablo is still played online but not as much as it used to be played because of Diablo II. There was an expansion pack for Diablo called Hellfire which added a new character The Monk. He was a quick melee character to my knowledge. I never played Hellfire and I’m not sure how many people did because it lacked multiplayer which probably hurt sales. A friend of mine had it though and told me about it. He said the Monk was awesome with a staff. The staff was the Sorcerer’s choice of weapon but he would only swing the staff one time and only one way. The Monk on the other hand swung the staff back and forth attacking fast with both ends of the staff. I would like to play Hellfire one day but when it was out I wasn’t too interested because it didn’t have multiplayer. When we thought it couldn’t get better Blizzard released Diablo II 4 years later on June 29, 2000. Diablo was such an awesome game and Diablo II comes out add it is just the perfect sequel upgraded it every way possible. I’m not going to into too much detail with Diablo II because I wrote a blog about Diablo II on its 10th birthday (click here to check out the post). Now with the release of Diablo III right around the corner (I hope) from the looks of it fans and new comers to Diablo will be treated to an awesome game. This is also the first time that you will be able to select the gender of the class you pick. The gender has always been assigned to a class in Diablo 1 and 2. Not we can choose which it’s a small thing but it is nice to have the freedom to choose. Diablo III looks amazing and I can’t for it to come out and when it does I will have more to say about the game.

To learn more about Diablo you can check out this site http://www.blizzard.com/diablo3

Top Games of 2011

I finally got some time to get my top lists together. It only top 7 due to a limited cash flow this year I was unable to buy or rent games to play (we all can relate to that). But here it is my Top 7 games of 2011. These are games I have played if I haven’t played the game it’s not on this list.

7. Lego Harry Potter: Years 5 – 7: The Lego games keep getting better and better. This is a great addition to the Lego game and they have added so much more to the game play this go around. If you have played Lego Harry Potter: Years 1 – 4 you won’t be lost. They also have duals and many other things that make this an awesome game. It is also darker just like the Books and Movies are the farther you get into it the darker is gets.

6. L.A. Noire - This is one of the most original games I’ve played in a while. You get to start as a cop and move your way up the ladder at the LAPD. You have to investigate crime scenes, gather clues and evidence and Question and Interrogate witnesses and suspects. You also have to watch these people closely and figure out if they are telling the truth, fibbing a little or outright lying. If you accuse someone of lying you must be able to back it up. You have to fully investigate if you didn’t fully look over a crime scene you can miss something and if you can’t back up your claim you can lose a case or let a bad guy off the hook. When driving around the city it’s like GTA4 except you are the Law this time.

5. Mortal Kombat – This is an amazing fighting game. The thing I like most is the simplicity. The Moves are easy to do and the graphics are awesome. One small thing in the game that is huge for me is the ability to change your stance just like in a real fight. That may not be a big thing but someone like me who practices martial arts it is a big thing. This brings me back to the first Mortal Kombat. It’s so awesome that they went back to the old school style while keeping it new school. They also brought by the famous uppercut that everyone love. The Fatalities are awesome and you have more to choose from in this game. Even if you aren’t a fan of Mortal Kombat but you like fighting game you got to try this game out. If you Like Mortal Kombat you probably own this game if not go buy it.

4. Pokémon Black & White – An awesome addition to the Pokémon series. It adds so much an awesome story line, lots of content and for the first time you get 2 rivals which later turned its 3 rivals. What is nice about these Pokémon games is that unlike the other games that are pretty much identical games with different Pokémon. Black & White are the same but have a lot of differences like Black has the Black City and White has the White Forest. Also there is a city in the Black version that looks futuristic and high tech, but in the White version the city is an old looking city where the people cling to the old ways. Black has rotation battles and White has triple battles throughout the game. You can battle any way you want online which is awesome. The online battle system is very fun and the trading system is awesome it lets you connect to people all over the world and you can get all the Pokémon you need from others as long as you have a Pokémon they want. If you like RPGs this is a great handheld RPG. This is a great game for the fan I took a hiatus from Pokémon after Gold & Silver and this is the game that brought me back to the series now I have a lot of catching up to do.

3. The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim – This is an fantastic game I have played other Elder Scrolls games is the past and this game has left the other in the dusts. The other games in the series are good but Skyrim is just that much better. I love the level up system and I also like that you can wield a spell in one hand and a melee weapon in the other. You can build up your character any way you want it feels like there are no restrictions to what you can do. Just like any other game in the series there is a lot to do and you will want to do it all.

2. Gears of War 3 – This was the most anticipated game of 2011 for me and it was a great way to end the trilogy. With 4 player co-op and very fun multiplayer modes this is a great game for the shooter fans. This story is great and pretty much all the loose ends are tied up you also find out if Clayton Carmine lives or dies. I voted to Save Carmine and I know people who Voted to have it killed off like it brothers but if you haven’t played the game I won’t ruin it for you. They added a couple more weapons and some new multiplayer modes include Beast mode which is the reverse of Horde mode. Horde mode is my favorite multiplayer mode to play.

1. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword – This game is simply a masterpiece. This game truly blew me away. Most Zelda games do but this game skyrocketed into my list of top Zelda games which I will save for another blog. I have never in my opinion played a bad Legend of Zelda game I thing they are bad one (As I’ve said before I don’t count the games on the CD-I they aren’t true Zelda game and I haven’t played them so it best to leave those games forgotten). I love playing with the WiiMotion Plus it added so much to the game and its pretty accurate. The story is awesome and the game play is as well. This game is a must play and a must own so go get it if you own a Wii there isn’t an excuse for you not to own this game.

Here is my list of top 4 games I haven’t played but want to play. These are based looks and what the reviews have said.

4. Portal 2 – Portal 1 was totally awesome game and then we get portal 2 which looks 10 times better.

3. Batman: Arkham City – Batman: Arkham Asylum was another awesome game and from want I have seen and heard Arkham City is much better.

2. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 – I love the Modern Warfare series I will purchase this game soon. It looks so awesome. If it is anything like the previous Modern Warfare games it will be awesome.

1. Super Mario 3D Land – I don’t own a 3DS but I want a 3DS for this game. I have watched someone play it and it looks awesome this game looks like a good enough reason to buy a 3DS.

Here is my top list of most anticipated game of 2012.

4. Bioshock Infinite – Bioshock came out of the blue and blew me away this series is awesome and I can’t wait for this latest installment.

3. Halo 4 – I love the Halo Series and can’t wait for the 4th installment I love the story line of this series and I love the multiplayer as well.

2. Diablo III – This year marks the 15th anniversary the Diablo Series so it’s a perfect year to release a new Diablo game. I hope that this game come out this year we have been told it will be out in the first quarter of 2012, but we know how Blizzard is they are perfectionists and they will push a game back just to make sure everything is perfect. It’s good to know they do this but its can get frustration as anticipation builds the more and more as we wait for this game.

1. Mass Effect 3 – My most anticipated game of 2012. This is my favorite video game trilogy and I haven’t even played the 3rd game yet but I know it will be awesome. Bioware is the best at making choice adventure games and it always gives you a reason to play the game multiple times. I will be sad to see the Mass Effect games come to the end but all good things must come to an end. That is why Mass Effect 3 is my most anticipated game of 2012 because the first two games and so freaking awesome.